Are you only in it til November?

Every four years, around November, you know what’s best to be well versed in at parties. It isn’t sports. It’s (finally) not OU football.

It’s the presidential election.

Lenora LaVictoire

And everyone has an opinion.

Your great aunt is willing to swear on the Bible that a Mormon will never be president.

Your friend testifies to an entire bar that so-and-so is talking about “what all the other politicians aren’t.”

And for the next twelve to fourteen months-—depending on if Beyonce will sing at the inauguration-—you, and everyone you know, remember that we all live in a republic where we vote for our leaders, and care who they are.

And, just like trying to figure out if the dress is purple or blue or grey or whatever, you quickly stop giving a crap.

The apathy glosses back over the eyes of the electorate, and they settle back into their comfy couches and friendly office place chatter about which Netflix show they’re currently “episnorting”.

Only to be roused from political hibernation again in four years—or eight, if it’s a relatively popular president’s second term.

Who are your state congresspeople anyways?

If you want to be politically active, the best way to get connected is with your community.

Reach out to the Oklahoma GOP or Oklahoma Democrats. Both parties’ state conventions are coming up.

At these, delegates are chosen to go to their respective national conventions in the summer.

If party politics aren’t your thing, become active in tracking what bills and votes your representatives are deciding on.

Send your representatives a letter to express your opinion, and be aware of how they actually vote. If you consistently don’t agree with how they vote, then you know not to vote for them next election.

Too often, incumbents are left in their district’s seat because so few of their constituents know who they are, or what their issues are.

Before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, almost 60 percent of Americans believed that Iraq was behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

There was no evidence supporting this claim, and one year later the bipartisan 9/11 Commision confirmed that.

However, 50 percent of Americans still believed that Saddam Hussein was connected to the terrorist attack.

This is a good example of the public not being informed and therefore not knowing what the truth was. And this shows just how dangerous it can be to lapse back into apathy the moment the inauguration speech is given.

While you’re all fired up on voting, try to remember to care about what our elected officials are doing, or not doing, during their terms.

So get out there and be active. Vote with your feet, not just your ballot.